On May 6, ShoreTel announced something that really moves Unified Communications forward on a few levels, and I’m going to explore that in the next couple of posts. I don’t normally post about news items or vendor-specific offerings, but ShoreTel Dock speaks to many of the themes I’ve been writing about here lately.

The press release provides more detail, but I’ll briefly explain Dock here and then talk about why it should be of interest to you. ShoreTel has updated the docking station concept by solving many problems facing mobility users and tying together several things ShoreTel does very well. In short, their Dock is built around Apple endpoints and works with either an iPad or an iPhone. Other mobile devices may come later, but for now, ShoreTel is going with the flow and supporting the most widely used smart phones and tablets.

Interestingly, even though Apple is a consumer-focused brand, these devices have very much become the tools of choice for business users, especially in North America, where RIM continues to fall out of favor. This is another topic altogether, and will be explored another time.

Docking stations have typically been PC-centric, and the twist here is that ShoreTel has made their docking station telecom-centric. Instead of docking your device to a PC keyboard, you’re docking to a telephony keypad. This may sound counterintuitive since these devices have touch screens and iPhones have a keypad already. True enough, but these devices are also mini computers and their screens function in much the same way as your PC screen.

So, why do you need a telephony keypad? There are two answers to consider. First is simplicity, familiarity and force of habit. You don’t have to use the dock’s keypad to make a call once your mobile device is attached, but it definitely makes for a better experience. Most small businesses use desk phones, and we’re heavily conditioned to use a dial pad when making calls from our desk. It’s a natural reaction, and until desk phones fade into memory, this makes the dock more user-friendly – which is critical when introducing something new.

More importantly, the dock makes for a superior calling experience. By routing calls through the dock – and by extension through the LAN and ShoreTel’s UC applications – end users get better and more reliable call quality along with the privacy of talking over a handset. Of course, this will be more comfortable for longer calls, plus you don’t have to worry about the battery running out or the phone getting hot by your greasy ear.

Another plus is making the iPad more valuable. The iPad is primarily for data – you could use it for voice with some third party applications, but would you really want to? Not only is it uncomfortable and unwieldy, but you look absolutely ridiculous in the process. All of this goes away with the Dock, and now you can easily make calls from your iPad’s contact directory.

All of this begs the question as to why you need this if there’s a regular phone sitting on your desk. That desk phone has always been there, and isn’t going away soon, but chances are you’re using it less and less. Of course, this brings us to BYOD – bring your own device – which all businesses are struggling with. Everyone seems to have a smart mobile device, and expectations are rising for using it in the office for both work and personal communication. Apple devices are very popular, but have limitations for business use, and that’s a big part of what ShoreTel Dock is addressing here.

In short, this is a great way to address BYOD for both your business and your employees. There’s more to the story, though, especially in terms of what else ShoreTel brings to the table and I’ll continue that in my next post. For now, I want to bring attention to this timely news, but don’t get too excited as it won’t be commercially available until Q3. There’s more to come, though – not just about ShoreTel, but about what this can do to make UC even more relevant for your business.